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People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine…
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People of the Book: A Novel (edition 2008)

by Geraldine Brooks

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
9,939495750 (3.93)892
In 1996, Hanna Heath, a young Australian book conservator is called to analyze the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a priceless six-hundred-year-old Jewish prayer book that has been salvaged from a destroyed Bosnian library. When Hanna discovers a series of artifacts in the centuries' old binding, she unwittingly exposes an international cover up.… (more)
▾Book information
Member:b.beaumont
Title:People of the Book: A Novel
Authors:Geraldine Brooks
Info:Penguin (Non-Classics) (2008), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 372 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:1/2
Tags:None

Work Information

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

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» See also 892 mentions

▾Member reviews
English (481)  Spanish (5)  Dutch (3)  German (2)  Italian (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Finnish (1)  All languages (494)
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 481 (next | show all)
This was good but I wanted it to be better.

I loved the concept but didn't really love any of the people and I think the writer wanted me too.

I'm glad I didn't look for photos of the real Sarajevo Haggadah because the images in my mind were more spectacular than the real thing - credit there to both the cover art and to Geraldine Brooks because the chapter on how Zahra learned to paint really made me conjure up something different in my mind.

Overall I feel good about the author and would read more of her work. ( )
  hmonkeyreads | Jan 25, 2024 |
Wonderful story! This is a book lover's book.

Generally I dislike books where chapters bounce around from one time period to another, but this book proved the exception.

Briefly, "People of the Book" begins with an Aussie conservator arriving in 1996 Sarajevo to work on an ancient Haggadah. In every other chapter we read about her relationships and her travels across Europe, to the US and back to Australia while researching this beautiful, ancient book.

The alternating chapters reach back in time moving through the chain of people through the centuries who kept the book safe from wars and book burnings until we finally get to discover the artist who created it. Each of the stories is wonderfully told.

I agree with the book jacket that it’s a “..compulsively readable adventure story…” ( )
  ellink | Jan 22, 2024 |
Great. Jumps forward & back in time but comes together nicely. ( )
  SteveMcI | Jan 5, 2024 |
The story of the Sarajevo Haggadah ("the book") although mostly fictionalized is fascinating and intricately created and told. I was fascinated with the details of how the book was made, the clues that revealed its history, and the process of rare book conservation and restoration. I was less and less interested in the sexual escapades of the people of the book, and frankly put off by them eventually. Nevertheless, a good read. ( )
  JMYodafriend | Dec 29, 2023 |
Wow, very rarely do I read something so deep and well-written so quickly. Twenty pages into this story, I knew it would be something very special and it's held my attention almost every spare moment for these last couple days. I learned so much about historical times I was unfamiliar with: the Spanish Inquisition and war time in Bosnia, especially. I feel like too much prattling on my part would really just be a detriment to the beauty of the story but suffice it to say, it's the best thing I've read in a long time.

Content warning: a few profanities are scattered throughout. Not excessive, but harsh when they appear. Several racy and/or abusive scenes but not too detailed. ( )
  classyhomemaker | Dec 11, 2023 |
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Showing 1-5 of 481 (next | show all)
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▾Published reviews
While peering through a microscope at a rime of salt crystals on the manuscript of the Haggadah, Hanna reflects that “the gold beaters, the stone grinders, the scribes, the binders” are “the people I feel most comfortable with. Sometimes in the quiet these people speak to me.” Though the reader’s sense of Hanna’s relationship with the Haggadah rarely deepens to such a level, Geraldine Brooks’s certainly has.
added by DieFledermaus | editNew York Times, Lisa Fugard (Jan 20, 2008)
 
Brooks' novel meticulously, lovingly amalgamates mystery and history with the personal story of its heroine, rare-book expert and conservator Hanna Heath.
added by DieFledermaus | editHouston Chronicle, Michael J. Bandler (Jan 17, 2008)
 
If Brooks becomes the new patron saint of booksellers, she deserves it. The stories of the Sarajevo Haggadah, both factual and fictional, are stirring testaments to the people of many faiths who risked all to save this priceless work.
added by DieFledermaus | editUSA Today, Susan Kelly (Jan 9, 2008)
 
added by lemontwist | editBooks To Watch Out For: The Lesbian Edition, Carol Seajay
 
▾Other authors

» Add other authors (20 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Geraldine Brooks—primary authorall editionscalculated
Wren, EdwinaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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▾Common Knowledge
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Canonical title
People of the Book
Original title
People of the Book
Alternative titles
Original publication date
2008 (1e édition originale américaine, Viking Penguin)
2008-08-14 (1e traduction et édition française, Belfond)
People/Characters
Hanna Heath
Ozren Karaman
Lola
Serif Kamal
Stela Kamal
Important places
Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
Australia
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Granada, Andalusia, Spain
Jerusalem
Important events
Spanish Inquisition
World War II (1939-1945)
Bosnian War (1992-1995)
Holocaust
Expulsion of the Jews in Spain
Related movies
Epigraph
There, where one burns books,
one in the end, burns men. 

-- Heinrich Heine
Dedication
For the librarians
First words
I might as well say, right from the jump: it wasn't my usual kind of job.
Quotations
The words stuck to his tongue like...the ashes that had fallen in a warm rain after the last book burning.
I wanted to give a sense of the people of the book, the different hands that had made it, used it, protected it.  I wanted it to be a gripping narrative, even suspenseful.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Stern, Molly
Blurbers
Original language
English
Canonical DDC/MDS
823.914
Canonical LCC
PR9619.3.B7153
▾References

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Wikipedia in English (2)

▾Book descriptions
In 1996, Hanna Heath, a young Australian book conservator is called to analyze the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a priceless six-hundred-year-old Jewish prayer book that has been salvaged from a destroyed Bosnian library. When Hanna discovers a series of artifacts in the centuries' old binding, she unwittingly exposes an international cover up.
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WorldCat

Genres

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

823.914Literature › English & Old English literatures › English fiction › Modern Period › 1901-1999 › 1945-1999

LC Classification

PR9619.B7153Language and Literature › English › English Literature › English literature: Provincial, local, etc.

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Average: (3.93)
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1 34
1.5 7
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